Overview
- The National Hurricane Center confirmed Tropical Storm Elida after Tropical Depression Five‑E intensified over the eastern Pacific and is tracking several hundred miles south‑southwest of Baja California.
- Forecasters say Elida should reach hurricane strength by Thursday night and could peak near 100 mph winds by Friday, with a low but nonzero chance of rapid intensification.
- Elida is not expected to make landfall, but agencies say its remnants could supply tropical moisture that may enhance monsoon rains over the U.S. Southwest.
- Meteorologists are also watching three other disturbances across the Central and Eastern Pacific, including two systems south of Hawaii and one off southern Mexico, that have varying odds of developing.
- NOAA reports an increased probability that this fall’s El Niño will be among the strongest on record, a condition that tends to warm eastern Pacific waters, lower wind shear, and favor above‑average storm activity.